TheDBStore.com's Essential Wine Fridge Buying Guide

By: David Dolan

Whether you're seeking additional wine storage space or a cooler to properly store your wine, the online wine cooler market is saturated with countless brands and models. If you're finding it difficult to find the "right" wine fridge, you're not alone. The recent surge in interest in wine has made it now more difficult than ever to determine which fridge is right for you. The DB Store’s “Essential Wine Fridge Guide” will help you sift through the various models and technological features to determine which fridge is right for you.

Getting down to the basics – Space and Size, “Look and Feel” and Cost

Space and Size

For many of us, we're limited by the amount space we have. From a walk-in wine cooler to table-top cooler, wine fridges vary greatly in size. Before you begin your quest to find the perfect fridge, determine where you're going to put it and the available space you have. Determining your available space first will also help determine how many bottles you’ll be able to keep cool.

As you determine how many bottles you’ll want to keep cool, you’ll also want to consider the following:

• How frequently do you consume and purchase wine per week

• How often you have dinner/wine parties

• Do you plan on carrying non-standard bottles that require cooling (such as champagne)

• Will you quickly be adding more bottles to your supply by belonging to a wine club

These additional factors can quickly add needed space to your wine rack. Once you've determined how many bottles you will or are currently carrying (space and cost permitting), it's good to multiply that number by 1.5-2 so that you don't run out of space.

Look and Feel

Whether or not you decide to purchase a walk-in cellar or merely a simple table-top wine cooler, you'll want the wine fridge to match the rest of your home. (For the married guys, you'll want to check with upper-management before selecting the look and feel.) From wooden racks, to stainless steel, white and black doors, there's likely a wine fridge that will meet and match your needs.

Types of Fridges Available
“Single Zone Wine Chiller”

A single zone wine chiller is the most common type of wine fridge. It’s essentially a fridge that cools at 1 single temperature.

Sanyo Wine Cooler: 47 Bottle

"Dual-Zone" coolers
For many individuals and couples, both red and white wines are stored in-house. Dual Zone coolers provide the ability to store both wines in the same cooler at 2 different temperatures.

What temperature should I store my bottles at?

Depending on the temperature and climate for where you live and which wines you carry will determine the need for a cooler. As a reference, check out the DB Store's quick reference cooling chart. (Click Here)

Popular Features

Below are just some of the popular features you may run into while searching for a Wine fridge. I’ll try to boil down what the benefits are for you so that you can determine which features are important to you.

Humidifier Control
Higher end wine fridges also offer humidifiers. Without a humidifier, the cork will eventually dry out. A good humidifier will also help the air circulation while preventing mildew or mold.

Vibration Control
Many wine coolers use a compressor to be able to cool the bottles. The drawback is that a compressor-powered cooling system can also vibrate the entire cooler (including the wine) and disrupt the sediments in the fine wine. To resolve this issue, some higher-end coolers offer a cooling system that doesn’t disrupt the sediments in the wine known as “Vibration Control”.

Eco-friendly
“Eco-friendly” wine fridges reduce the amount of electricity and power needed to operate the fridge which ultimately conserves energy and is “eco-friendly”.

Whisper Quiet
As the feature suggests, “whisper quite” fridges allow you store your wine without the expense of the peaceful quiet of your home.

Digital Thermostat
For expensive bottles of wine, you’ll want to ensure you’re storing that bottle at the ideal temperature. A digital thermostat allows you to store your bottle of wine w/ precision.

Conclusion Now that you have a sense for what to look out for when searching for your wine fridge, we wish you luck in selecting your next fridge. In case you have any questions, feel free to write me at ddolan@thedbstore.com

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Ideal Temperatures for Storing your Wine

The temperature and climate for where you live and which wines you carry will determine your need for a wine cooler. Whether you buy wine by the bottle or case, you�ll notice that if your wine is not stored properly, it can quickly lose its character and flavor; especially if the wine is stored in excessive heat. Even rapid changes in temperature can change the compression inside the bottle which can cause the cork to get pushed out and allow air inside the bottle; which leads to oxidation and also changes its flavor. Below is a quick reference chart to store your wine properly:

Types of Wine	Degrees Fahrenheit	Degrees Celsius
Shiraz and Vintage Port	62-64	17-18
Fine Cabernet / Merlot / Red Bordeaux	60-62	16-17
Fine Pinot Noir / Red Burgundy	58-60	14-16
Most Red Wines	54-56	12-13
Loire reds / Beaujolais / Rose	52	11
Fine whites / White Burgundy	48-50	9-10
Vintage Champagne / Dessert Wines	46-48	8-9
Most White Wines	42-46	6-8
Nevada Champagne / Sparkling Wine	40-44	4-7

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